Say My Name
by 14hpgirl19
Summary: During a case in Seattle, Hotch and Emily are forced to go undercover as a bickering couple. Will they finally be able to admit their true feelings for each other?


**A/N:  Hi! This is my first story, so please be nice. I would really appreciate some feedback. Tell me if you like it, or if you think I need some work on the characters. Oh, and I certainly DO NOT own Criminal Minds or its characters. :) **

Say My Name

It was a messy one.

Three couples were found murdered a week after each other. It didn't appear as if the UnSub abducted the couples before he murdered them. Eye witnesses said they last saw each couple at a bar. As they would leave, people could hear them arguing.

The Seattle field office was filled with people trying to piece the murders together. A bulletin board had pictures of them victims along with their important information and where they were last seen.

Morgan shook his head. "Three different couples, three different bars. The UnSub has no specific place he likes to go to."

"He's going to different places to stop us from tracking down where he'll be next," Reid said. "He's smart."

"We need to be smarter," Hotch said. "It's been a week since the last murder. He's going to strike tonight. What do we know?"

"He's praying on fighting couples," Prentiss stated. "He enters the bar and looks for possible victims. If he hears them start to fight, he goes after them."

"He has to wait until they leave," Rossi said. "He follows them to a secluded area and kills them."

"Maybe he has a preferred area," JJ suggested. "He can't just kill them anywhere, especially with the beating he gives them."

"The men have been beaten more," Prentiss said. "This could be because he believes the men are the ones at fault for the fighting."

"But he still kills the women," Morgan pointed out.

"She's at fault too, just not as much as the men," Hotch said, coming to Emily's defense.

"Alright, we understand how he does it and why," JJ said. "Now we need to figure out where he will be tonight and how to bait him."

Reid focused on the board. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" Rossi asked.

"It's just," Reid said, looking at the board closely. "The names of the bars are in alphabetical order. Look, Arabian Lounge, Bert's Pub, Dawson Lodge…"

Morgan picked up his phone and dialed Garcia's number. Putting it on speaker, he said, "Baby girl, we need you to rearrange the list of all the bars here in Seattle in alphabetical order."

"Coming right up, my wonderful G-man. What's so important with it being in alphabetical order?"

"We believe the UnSub is going through the bars in alphabetical order," Hotch said. "Which bar is after Dawson Lodge?"

"That would be East Side Tavern."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Morgan said, ending the call. "Okay, now we know where he's gonna be. How do we bait him?'

"Well it's obvious, right?" JJ said, looking at everyone. "We need two people to go undercover as a bickering couple."

The team looked at each other, sizing them up. They were silent for a few moments before Reid said, "I think Emily should go."

"Wha-what?" Emily sputtered. "Why me?'

"You have experience with being undercover," Reid said. The whole team immediately remembered the Ian Doyle incident. Emily hung her head in resignation and nodded.

"Now who will be your partner?" Rossi asked. He, Morgan, JJ, and Reid got a mischievous look on their faces. They had been waiting for an opportunity like this.

Morgan cleared his throat and said with as much innocence as he could muster, "I think it should be Hotch."

Up until then, Hotch had been deep in thought. He was trying to push away thoughts of Emily and the possibility of her pretending to be in a relationship with one of the guys. The thought made him feel odd, like he was jealous. _No,_ he thought. _I'm not jealous._ When he heard Morgan say his name, he head snapped up. "What?" he asked aloud.

"You're right, Morgan," Rossi said with a grin. "Hotch is clearly the best choice for the job."

"Definitely," JJ smiled.

Even Reid, who never joined in on office gossip, eagerly nodded.

Hotch couldn't fight his way out of this one. He didn't even want to. The Unit Chief had been hiding his feelings for the brunette agent for years. He shyly looked at Emily and raised his eyebrows. This would almost be like a dream come true, except for the fact that once the case was over, so was their relationship. He was completely on board with going undercover with her, as long as she was. Hotch certainly did not want to reveal his feelings to her if she didn't reciprocate them.

Thankfully, she gave him a small smile and said, "I guess it's you and me tonight, Hotch."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the whole team yelled.

"It's not Hotch and Prentiss tonight," Rossi reprimanded. "It's Aaron and Emily."

"Right," Emily sighed. Tonight would be tough for her too. She had been struggling with her feelings with Hotch for years. Now it would almost be a reality.

Hotch and Emily looked at each other. This would be a long night.

The rest of the team grinned. This would be a fun night.

The East Side Tavern was full of people that night. All of the pool tables were taken and there was hardly an empty seat in the room. The bartenders were working as hard as they could to keep everyone happy. Hotch and Emily stepped into the crowded room at 9:15. He had his arm around her shoulders and she had her arm around his waist. They were dressed casually: Hotch was wearing jeans, an open button-down shirt, and a white t-shirt underneath it. Emily was wearing skinny jeans, a white blazer, and a purple silk tank top. They certainly didn't look like FBI agents.

The plan had been worked out and discussed several times. They were to establish that they were a couple and sit at the bar. After twenty minutes or so, they would begin to fight about something. Their argument would have to be loud enough to get the UnSub's attention. Emily would storm out, and Hotch would follow her. The UnSub would hopefully follow, try to attack them, and they rest of the team would arrest him. The team would be watching the bar through security cameras. Hotch and Emily had their guns: Emily's was hidden under her jacket, and Hotch's was in his ankle holster.

The two of them walked up to the bar and took the last to stools. They ordered their drinks and looked around at their surroundings. The team watched in anticipation.

"C'mon," Morgan murmured. "Let's see some action."

"Maybe they'll finally realize how perfect they are for each other," JJ said happily.

"They just have to start talking!" Garcia yelled. She was watching the live feed on one of her computers back at Quantico.

At the bar, Hotch glanced at Emily. She looked beautiful. Figuring he might as well get the conversation going, he said, "So how was your day, sweetheart?"

Emily snapped herself from her daydreams of this being an actual date, and said with a bright smile, "Wonderful. Though it's even better now that I'm with you. How was yours?'

He grimaced. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Emily gave him a sympathetic smile. "That bad, huh?"

"I said I'd rather not talk about it. Just make me forget about it." As he said the last part, his stomach gave a small lurch. Would she do it?

She smiled and leaned in closer to him. He quickly closed the gap between their lips and kissed her. It was tentative at first, but they both began to enjoy it. Hotch had dreamed about this for years, and it was just as amazing as he thought it would be. Emily was thinking the same thing. She was in heaven as she leaned further into his kiss.

All too soon, Hotch pulled away, willing himself not to pick her up in his arms and run back to the hotel. Emily wished he hadn't pulled away so soon, and then mentally chastised herself. They were working, not dating. Still…she grinned mischievously at him. That didn't mean they couldn't have some fun while they worked.

"Feel better?" she asked smoothly.

He could have some fun too. "Mmm...Almost. One more might do the trick."

She playfully rolled her eyes, and pulled him close. This kiss was more fervent than the first, as if they knew it couldn't last long. After a few moments, she reluctantly pulled away. "You'll have to wait now."

He sighed. "Do I have to?"

Emily giggled at the sound of her stoic boss pleading with her. "Yup."

He smiled at that, and she could feel her heart melting. They continued talking for another forty-five minutes. All the awkwardness was gone, and they never ran out of things to talk about. Hotch found himself falling more and more in love with her. He never knew any of the things she told him and he found it amazing that he could talk so easily with her. Emily began wishing the night would never end. He was opening up to her in ways he never did before. Too soon, the clock on the wall read 10:00. It was time to officially bait the UnSub.

An attractive twenty-something walked by the bar. Hotch's eyes left Emily's and followed the woman's backside to her table. Emily smacked him on the arm. Hard.

"What the hell are you doing?" she said loudly.

"What?" Hotch asked, feigning innocence.

"You were checking that woman out."

"I'm not blind, Aaron. I saw you gawking at her."

"Oh, so I can't look at other women, but you can look at other men?"

"I don't look at other men. YOU, however, feel up and stare at every attractive woman you see!"

Their argument had reached maximum volume. Several of the bar's patrons were watching with rapt attention. Hotch stood up and yelled, "I can't believe you! After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me?"

"Repay you?" Emily spat. "YOU should be the one repaying ME for staying with your worthless ass!"

"Fine! Leave me then!"  
>Emily jumped up. "Fine! I will!" Wiping tears from her eyes, she ran from the bar.<p>

Hotch sighed. She was such a good actress. He felt terrible for looking at that woman, even if it was for the case. He waited for a few seconds before striding out of the bar. "Emily, wait!"

Once he was outside, he looked around for Emily. He spotted her sitting on a nearby bench. Her shoulders were gently shaking as she cried. Hotch walked over, aware of the man exiting the bar behind him. He sat down on the bench next to her.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Go away," she hissed.

"I'm trying to fix this."

"All you said was 'hey'. That doesn't fix anything."

"Then let's try!"

During their conversation, the man that had left the bar after Hotch was walking closer to the agents.

"Is he giving you a hard time, miss?" he asked once he had reached them.

"No," Hotch said harshly. "She's fine."

"You don't speak for her," the UnSub said.

"Yeah," Emily said, no longer crying. "You don't speak for me."

"I just want to get past this," Hotch insisted.

"You guys clearly have some issues to work out," the UnSub said. "Let me help. Let's go somewhere quiet and you two can talk it out."

Emily and Hotch looked at each other. _So that's how he does it,_ they both thought. He offers to help them solve their problems. The couples were so distraught they didn't think anything of it.

They had to keep playing along. Hotch tilted his head a fraction of an inch, signaling Emily to agree with the UnSub. She sighed and said, "That's not a bad idea."

"It's a terrible idea," Hotch scoffed. Emily glared at him, and he quickly said, "But I'm willing to try if you are."

"I know a private little ally where you guys can talk," the UnSub said. "Follow me." He started walking quickly down the street. Hotch and Emily stood up and looked at each other.

"We need to keep pretending to be a defenseless couple until back-up arrives," he whispered.

"Right," she whispered back.

They followed the UnSub down the street and turned right down an ally. The opposite end was hundreds of feet away from where they stood. It was the perfect place for a murder.

The UnSub turned and faced them. He gave them a twisted smile. "Now you two can talk. What are your names?"

"Emily," she said. "This is Aaron." Hotch gave a tiny nod.

"Perfect. Now let's start. I've been told I'm very good with helping couples work out their problems." He turned and looked Hotch in the eye, his friendly demeanor gone. "So Aaron, why do you look at other women? Is being with Emily not enough for you?"

"Uh…" Hotch said, at a loss for words. They hadn't planned on going this far, and there was no sign of the rest of the team. Luckily for him, the UnSub didn't let him answer before he asked another question. "Do you feel that you don't have to be faithful to you girlfriend?"

The UnSub was getting riled up now. Hotch knew he was going to be very dangerous in a few minutes. He glanced at Emily and willed her to keep going. She got the message and said, "Yeah, do you?" Unfortunately for her, the UnSub was getting to the point where he would hurt both of them. He turned to her and yelled, "And you! You wouldn't let him explain!"

"Whoa," she stuttered. "I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm on everyone's side," he replied. His voice was eerily calm. "And I think the best way to solve this is for both of you to say goodbye."

Both agents knew exactly what he meant. Emily looked around the dark ally. Where was the team? They needed to stall the UnSub a little longer, so she decided to play dumb. "Goodbye, as in break up?"

The UnSub shook his head slowly, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. "No. I mean, goodbye, as in, goodbye to your lives." As he said it, he began to pull a knife and gun from his jacket. Hotch and Emily looked at each other with worried looks. There was no way they could wait for the team. Hotch nodded at Emily, silently asking her to cover him. She nodded and whipped out her gun. Hotch dropped to the ground and pulled his gun out of his holster. They both aimed directly at the UnSub's heart.

"Federal agents," Hotch growled. "Put your weapons down. Now."

The UnSub looked at them with a bewildered look on his face. He dropped the knife, but continued to hold the gun. "You two were a couple. Kissing. Fighting."  
>"It's called being undercover," Emily said, her gut twisting painfully with the reminder. "We figured out your plan and tricked you."<p>

"You couldn't have. I'm too smart."

'That's what you think," Hotch said. "Now put down the gun and come with us."

"Two against one. That's a little unfair, don't you think?" Before either one could say anything, he turned his gun on Emily. Hotch immediately felt terror fill his body and didn't even think. All he knew was the quiet ally was suddenly filled with gunshots.

The team finally showed up. They caught the very end of the conversation, and fired at the UnSub, who was named Terry Johnston, as soon as he turned the gun on Emily. Hotch fired at him as well. Terry had indeed fired at Emily, but was caught off guard by all the other shots, so all he did was catch a bit of Emily's shoulder. She was sitting in the back of an open ambulance getting her wound treated. Hotch was standing a few feet away watching, feeling shaken. If the team hadn't appeared….he didn't want to think about it.

"Hey," a voice said next to him. Hotch turned his head slightly and looked at Rossi. "Hey," he said warily back.

"Are you okay?" Rossi asked, sounding concerned. "You look rattled."

"That's because I am," Hotch snapped. He sighed a second later, regretting yelling at his friend. "It's just…..we almost lost her again. This time it could have been permanent."

"You can't worry about that now," Rossi said soothingly. "She's fine, the case is closed, and you can tell her how you truly feel."

Hotch's head whipped around and looked at the other man fully. Trying to regain his composure, he said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh cut the crap, Aaron. We all know how you feel about her. We saw it tonight with our own eyes."

Hotch cleared his throat. "It's called acting."

"It's calling showing your true feelings. I know you're not that good an actor." When Hotch didn't Rossi sighed and tried something else. "Didn't it feel good to almost be a relationship with her? Wasn't it wonderful to really talk to her, and kiss her? Don't you want to do it again?"

Hotch gave up on putting his feelings away and said softly, "Yeah."

"Then go talk to her!" Rossi gave him a small shove forward, and Hotch strode over to the ambulance. He gave a small nod to the paramedic, who stepped away, and looked at Emily. She glanced up ay him with tired eyes and gave him a wry smile. Other than the large white bandage on her shoulder, she looked fine.

"How do you feel?" he asked her quietly.

"Alright. My shoulder just hurts a bit," she grinned tentatively, trying to make a joke. Hotch gave a small smile that didn't fully reach his eyes. She instantly knew that he was terrified of what could have happened. She sighed. It pained her to see this amazing man look this way. "Hotch….." she trailed off, trying to think of a way to calm him.

He froze at the sound of his partial last name. They were back to being coworkers. Just coworkers. He almost lost his nerve and didn't say anything, but then he remembered what it was like to kiss her. He wanted to do it again so much it hurt. _No,_ he thought. _We are not back to last names only._ He cleared his throat and said, "Emily…"

Now it was Emily who froze. She knew that occasionally Hotch would call her by her first name and she would have assumed that after what nearly happened to her he would call her Emily. But not the way he said it. They way he just said it sounded like it had back at the bar.

It sounded like he was in love with her.

Her heart sped up. _Calm yourself, Em,_ she thought sternly. _You're getting ahead of yourself._ She decided to test him. "Hotch?" she said curiously, waiting to see his reaction.

He closed his eyes, as if he was debating on what to do next. "Say my name."

She was confused. "Hotch?" she repeated.

"No," he said, gazing at her with intensity. "My first name."

"Aaron," she whispered.

He sat down next to her on the edge of the ambulance. "I love it when you say my name," he said slowly, aware he was putting his feeling on the line. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I love it when you bite your nails when you're nervous. I love it when you work a crime scene and get so determined. I love it when become dedicated to saving lives, especially children." He looked deep into her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I love you."

Her jaw dropped slightly and she let out a small gasp. "Aaron, I-I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything," he said quickly. "I understand this may be…..overwhelming, but-"

"I love you, too."

For a second, he thought he had heard her wrong. "What?"

"I love you," she repeated. She leaned in close and kissed him softly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. When she pulled away, she smiled shyly at him.

"I was afraid you didn't feel the same way," she whispered.

He stroked her hair. "I've felt this way ever since you walked into my office on your first day."

She chuckled. "As in, the day you told me there was a mistake and I didn't belong on your team?"

He groaned. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

She smiled as she looked him in the eye. "Don't be. I'm here now, aren't I?"

He kissed her again, enjoying the warm feeling he got in his stomach. "Yes, you are."

She pulled away and gave him a sly grin. "Do you wanna get out of here? Maybe go get something to eat….." she trailed off as she noticed the hungry look in his eyes. "Or we could just head back to the hotel."

He smiled a genuine Aaron Hotchner smile, complete with the dimples that made Emily's knees weak. "I would love that."

The two of them stood up and walked hand in hand to one of the black SUVs, waving goodbye to the team. They still had things to talk about, but that could wait. That night, it was just them.


End file.
